PCCEA Complaint To HLC - Oct 8 2022
PCCEA Complaint To HLC - Oct 8 2022
PCCEA Complaint To HLC - Oct 8 2022
Pima Community College Educa on Associa on (PCCEA) represents full- me faculty at Pima Community
College (PCC) on compensa on and working condi ons and submits this complaint to the Higher
Learning Commission regarding College ac ons that create fear and hopelessness. Specifically, the
College has engaged in the following:
● Harassment, in mida on, and retalia on against employees who have publicly expressed
cri cism of the College [Assumed Prac ce A.4; Criteria 2.A.2]
● A acks on the character and reputa on of employees in ways that shame and silence them from
expressing public cri cism of the College [Criteria 1.C.3]
● A dispute resolu on process that conceals policy viola ons and denies employees an unbiased
method of resolving complaints [Assumed Prac ce A.4]
These viola ons occurred over the past several months as faculty leaders have voiced concerns about:
● the change to the classifica on and compensa on of all PCC employees while denying
representa ve groups like PCCEA the right to engage in a Meet and Confer process as required
by College policy;
● significant efforts on behalf of PCC to stall and conceal informa on about the content and even
receipt of the dra report from the HLC visit in March 2022 regarding Board governance.
In response, faculty and staff representa ves submi ed a grievance about the policy viola ons that
denied employees their right to input. Simultaneously, faculty leaders called on the Chancellor for
greater transparency regarding the HLC dra report. When a local television sta on ran a story about the
lack of transparency at PCC, the PCCEA President stated on air that “there have been a lot more rushed
decisions and a lot more policies put in place that had the appearance of stakeholder input that have
had trickle down effects and not always in a posi ve way.”
PCC’s response to these public cri cisms was swi , engaging in both stonewalling and in mida on. The
Office of Dispute Resolu on (ODR) refused to consider the merits of the grievance despite the clear
viola on of policy. In response to internal ques oning of the Chancellor and subsequent media
a en on, three faculty leaders, including the PCCEA President and Past-President, were required to
submit to interviews with outside legal counsel regarding the HLC dra report. The interviews were
designed to in midate and silence dissent as well as force employee representa ves to reveal
confiden al informa on and sources under the threat of disciplinary ac on, including termina on. The
day of the interviews, in an email to all employees, the Chancellor ques oned the ethical integrity of
those who spoke to the media, understood by many to include the PCCEA President.
PCC’s ac ons inhibit employees’ rights to associa on and expressing their views on ma ers of public
concern. They create fear through character a acks, in mida on, and retalia on. By having ODR dismiss
legi mate grievances and policy viola ons, PCC also fosters a feeling of hopelessness by denying
employees a safe and effec ve avenue for complaints.
PCCEA requests monitoring and solu ons that do not harm PCC’s accredita on status or service to
students.
Sincerely,